Recipe from Soil to Gut: How to Regenerate Your Health with Food by Lucy Williamson (5m Books, £24.99). Reproduced with permission. Photo credit: Georgina Valentine.
The perfect lunch: golden, crispy vegetable fritters made with British yellow pea flour from Hodmedod’s, served with a generous spoonful of thick, tangy labneh. They’re packed with grated carrot, soft onion, cumin and plenty of fresh parsley, with crumbled feta melting through every bite.
Labneh is simply strained yoghurt, popular across the Middle East, and it’s ridiculously easy to make at home. Stir a little salt into thick live yoghurt, leave it to drip through muslin overnight and by morning you’ll have something rich and spreadable, somewhere between Greek yoghurt and cream cheese. Just remember to start it the night before.
With seven different plants in every batch, these fritters are an easy way to boost your plant diversity. Find out why eating 30 plants a week matters for your gut, and how to hit it with the best of the British autumn harvest.
Why You’ll Love These Vegetable Fritters
- Quick to cook: once the labneh is made, the fritters are on the table in around 35 minutes.
- Made with British pulses: yellow pea flour gives the fritters a gently nutty flavour and a welcome protein boost.
- Plant-packed: plant count 7 (carrot, onion, garlic, cumin, lemon, parsley, yellow peas). Serve with a side salad to push it higher.
- Freezer-friendly: make a double batch and you have speedy lunches sorted.
Tips For Perfectly Crispy Fritters
- Soften the onion and carrot first. Cooking out some of their moisture helps the fritters hold together and crisp up.
- Aim for a thick, pancake-like batter. If it’s too runny, the fritters will spread in the pan.
- Get the oil hot but not smoking, and don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches so each fritter has room to turn golden.
- Drain on kitchen paper and serve straight away, while they’re still crisp.
Swaps and Variations
- No yellow pea flour? Gram (chickpea) flour works well instead.
- Vegetarian: check that your feta is made with vegetarian rennet.
- Flavour the labneh: stir in chopped fresh herbs or lemon zest, or finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Add crunch: scatter over toasted pumpkin seeds, as in the photo, for extra texture (and another plant).
- Add a tangy side: a spoonful of homemade fermented vegetables, another recipe from Soil to Gut, adds crunch and three more plants (cabbage, apple and ginger).
Can You Freeze Vegetable Fritters?
Yes, they freeze beautifully. Cool them completely, freeze between sheets of baking parchment so they don’t stick together, then reheat in a hot oven until piping hot. The labneh will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
About Soil to Gut
This recipe comes from Soil to Gut: How to Regenerate Your Health with Food by Lucy Williamson, published by 5m Books (£24.99). As the title suggests, the book explores the link between how our food is grown and our own health, with recipes to put it into practice.
I hope you enjoy this vegetable fritters with labneh recipe as much as I do. If you make it, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Vegetable Fritters with Labneh
Equipment
Disclaimer: the equipment list above includes affiliate links to products I use and like.
Ingredients
FOR THE FRITTERS:
- cold pressed rapeseed oil
- 2 small onions finely chopped
- 3 large carrots grated
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tsp whole cumin seed
- 3 eggs
- 125 g yellow pea flour we used Hodmedod’s
- 2 tsp baking powder
- sea salt and pepper
- 250 g feta
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 bunch parsley finely chopped
FOR THE LABNEH:
- 500 ml thick bio live yogurt
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
LABNEH (START THE NIGHT BEFORE)
- Put the yogurt in a bowl and stir in the salt.500 ml thick bio live yogurt, 1 tsp sea salt
- Line a sieve with a clean muslin cloth and spoon in the yogurt.
- Gather up the sides of the cloth and tie with string. Suspend the bag over a bowl overnight, ideally in the fridge, so the whey drips out.
- In the morning, turn out the thick yogurt from the muslin. This is your labneh. Store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
FOR THE FRITTERS
- Heat a little rapeseed oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook until soft, about 8 minutes.cold pressed rapeseed oil, 2 small onions
- Add the garlic, cumin seeds and grated carrots and cook for 5–10 minutes until the carrot has softened. Take off the heat.2 garlic cloves , 1 tsp whole cumin seed, 3 large carrots
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the yellow pea flour, baking powder and seasoning. It should look like a thick pancake batter.3 eggs, 125 g yellow pea flour, 2 tsp baking powder, sea salt and pepper
- Stir in the carrot mixture, crumbled feta, lemon juice and parsley. Mix well and season to taste.250 g feta, ½ lemon juiced, 1 bunch parsley
- Wipe out the pan and heat 1 tbsp rapeseed oil over a medium-high heat (don’t let it smoke). Drop in heaped tablespoons of the mixture and fry for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden. Cook in batches, adding a little more oil as needed.
- Drain the fritters on kitchen paper. Serve warm on a sharing platter with a bowl of labneh, or on plates with a side salad.
Notes
- Make ahead and freeze: the fritters freeze well. Cool completely, freeze between sheets of baking parchment, then reheat in a hot oven until piping hot.
- Flavour the labneh: once strained, stir in chopped fresh herbs or lemon zest, or finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Swap the flour: gram (chickpea) flour works if you can’t find yellow pea flour.
- Vegetarian: check that your feta is made with vegetarian rennet.
- Sourcing: buy as locally as you can, whether from a farm shop, a veg box or British produce at the supermarket.
Nutritional Information
Find this recipe online:
Vegetable Fritters with Labneh
https://theflexitarian.co.uk/recipe-items/vegetable-fritters-with-labneh/
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